


Run Boy Run

by BrightTerror



Series: BrightTerror's 2020 Whumptober [5]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Autistic Spencer Reid, BAMF Spencer Reid, Concussions, Dissociation, Family Fluff, Flashbacks, Fluff, Gen, Hotch and Rossi are like his Dads, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Minor Injuries, Panic Attacks, Spencer Reid Whump, Spencer Reid-centric, Team as Family, Tobias Hankel references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:07:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26838697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BrightTerror/pseuds/BrightTerror
Summary: Reid goes undercover for a case, everything is going well until in the blink of an eye everything goes sideways and its up to him to escape from the mess he put himself into.For Whumptober day 5: "On the Run" and Day 18 Panic Attacks
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner & Spencer Reid, Derek Morgan & Spencer Reid, Spencer Reid & David Rossi, Spencer Reid & The BAU Team
Series: BrightTerror's 2020 Whumptober [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1948378
Comments: 8
Kudos: 159
Collections: Whumptober 2020





	Run Boy Run

**Author's Note:**

> I had a lot of fun writing this fic and hope y'all enjoy!   
> Beta'd by the great @Klargreeves

He was running. He didn’t know how long he had been running - it could have been hours or simply only minutes. Not being used to racing through the thick woods in only his mismatched socks, his feet were killing him slowly. To be honest, he wasn’t used to running at all. There was a reason he had been expunged from all field qualifications when he first joined. Through the years he had gotten better with his gun and definitely could run for short periods of time to chase the unsub that wanted to get away. But never like this. He never had to run when he was the one being chased. 

It all had gone horribly wrong in the blink of an eye. Not even his genius brain could fully process how royally fucked he was. It was supposed to be a foolproof job. It was always dangerous to go undercover and though they had thought of all the possibilities and prepared in case it went wrong, they hadn’t seen this one coming. 

_______

Their unsub was one of the most difficult to catch. She never killed directly but instead sent others to kill _for_ her - she was the killer that didn’t kill. The BAU hadn’t connected the past five cases to her until the last victim, and that’s when they realised their work would get way trickier, no matter how many separate unsubs they caught she would keep hiring more killers to do her bidding. 

They had spent weeks trying to work the case, trying to tie her directly to any of the murders with enough evidence that would hold up in court - but they had no luck. She would cover his tracks well and had enough power on the right people to get away with it. The body count kept rising and they were certain their profile was correct. Their profile led them to Addison Moore. She was a CEO at one of the most prestigious companies. She didn’t kill for pleasure or delusion, as most of the unsub usually did, no, she killed for power or just to alleviate boredom. She was in her early thirties and she _loved_ control. The more she gained it, the more she craved it. The killings started a few years back, shortly after her last living relative passed away, they profiled that might have been the stressor that led her to her first kill. 

Hotch and Emily managed to get information out of the last unsub they had caught. He was the weakest link so far and had snitched on her and her identity, which led him to mysteriously show up dead in the holding cell the next day. 

That’s the moment when they decided to send someone undercover. And as much as they hated it, they decided to send Reid. He was the only one who could memorise and remember all the details about her and therefore be less likely to slip on his cover and was also the only one who was knowledgeable enough to be working at a high end position in her company. 

So that’s how Reid ended up in the same location as their unsub in the first place. He had managed to make her trust him in record time and after four weeks of working beside her he was her right hand man. Addison liked that his eidetic memory helped her become even richer with her company and would often let him have a say on what to do next. He would often advise her on who to sell assets to, tell her who was too weak in the chain of command and had to be let go and even helped to calculate which of her competition was most likely to go bankrupt in the next few years so they could take advantage of it. In those short four weeks she and the company became twice as richer and five times as powerful.

He would tip her off on which of the other businesses had to go down so she could thrive - he would do so by providing her with the appropriate blackmail material for the needed suitors. Reid was her perfect little pawn, or so she thought, so it’s needless to say she was infatuated with him and more often than not would make him stay late to take him to fancy restaurants and get him expensive gifts. She wanted to buy his trust as he did with the others. Reid, of course, knew what she was doing and played along. Besides… He didn’t see anything wrong with getting some really expensive first edition books out of the whole deal. 

He didn’t have any mics or listening devices on him in order for the rest of the team to hear what he was saying because it was too risky. The chances of him getting caught that way were too high, so he had cut all contact with the FBI and his acquaintances completely except every night he would go to his apartment - that he was given to him as part of his cover - and log in to a computer that was Garcia-approved to give them a detailed update on the case and his progress. He had to check in twice every day, so they would know he was alright, and at any sign of it going slightly sideways, they had everything ready to go back him up. 

Tonight, Addison had invited Reid to her mansion that was situated near the woods. Since they were in Maine most of the area was covered in it - it was a pleasant view. She had invited him to talk about work and discuss some off the record ideas for their next move. 

They were currently having dinner. Reid was rambling about statistics of forests and how much of it was protected land after she had asked him if he liked the view from their balcony. She could have stopped him any time but decided to listen to his rants. 

“Tell me, Spencey, did you enjoy dinner?” She smiled at him in a more or less predatory way and raised an eyebrow as she sipped her wine. 

Reid swallowed the last bite of his shrimp cocktail and smiled at her. “It was splendid, and the white wine was the perfect addition. Actually, did you know that polyphenols - which can be found in wine and also chocolate - are really good for your health? They can increase blood flow and therefore oxygen to the brain which can boost your cognitive ability.” 

Addison chuckled. “I've known you for four weeks and you seem to have never ending facts about everything and anything; you knew when my professional accountants messed up the numbers, you figured out the next strategy for the Parker Company, then effectively blackmailed Mr Greene to give in his share of the company when he would not budge… and now you’re blabbering about wine.” She was looking at Reid with admiration and curiosity. “Is there anything you don’t know?” 

“There’s actually no possible way to know everything. The amount of information known in the world would take more than one leftime to consume, even with my eidetic memory.” He frowned. 

The BAU had decided to give him a proper undercover identity with background information put onto the records but Reid was the one to object to it and instead use his own identity and past to get close to the unsub. He argued against having a made up identity since she had people everywhere and some of them who did the background checks at her company might know him and call out his act. The best bet was to let Addison know he was Spencer Reid and they would not change any part of his history, except the fact that they staged him getting out of the BAU and was no longer working for them after they supposedly ended on bad terms. 

“You’re an odd one, darling,” she gave him a once-over and the corners of her mouth quirked up. “You make a remarkable and magnificent addition to my company. I don’t understand how the _feds_ let you go.”

“They had no choice, I wanted to leave.” Reid’s face twisted. 

“I never did hear the whole story. It was public news on your departure from the bureau but the details were never released,” she thought out loud. “Why did you leave?” 

“I wanted more. I knew could be doing so much more than be stuck doing paperwork and dealing with the higher ups. They would treat me like a pawn in their game, think I was there to do their bidding. I could’ve gotten all their jobs if I wanted, but there would have been hard feelings and I didn't have the patience to deal with that,” Reid sighed and took a gulp of his wine. He was pretending to be riled up. He had the whole story of how he left the BAU memorised.

“I get it. You and I were born for more… We were not made to follow other men’s rules. They don’t understand. They hide behind their set of rules to have any sort of grasp on the idea that they are in charge, but the truth is they have no power over the rest. If anyone ever rebelled, there isn’t anything they can do to stop it.” She put her long black hair up in a bun as she talked. “I know about that coworker of yours that killed that man in cold blood… Allegedly, of course.” She winked. “Elle was her name, right?”

Reid didn’t expect her to be mentioned so he just nodded mutely and continued to act calmly. 

“She is perfect to prove my point. The feds _knew_ what she did and couldn’t do anything about it because of the protocols and evidence they had to use. Don’t you see? The rules that they think they control actually control them. They were profilers and it doesn’t take one to see what happened… But of course, you know all that. That’s why you left, isn’t it?”

Reid let out an exasperated sigh. He had all the right expressions for the situation memorised so he would fit in with his cover. “Yeah, I grew tired of all the bossing around. And even if I was in charge, I couldn’t accomplish anything there. As you said, they are limited by their rules, dictated by pieces of paper.” 

Addison smiled and her eyes bore into him. “And _why_ did you choose to work _here_?”

Reid looked at her and pretended to think. “Honestly?” He paused. “Out of all the job offers I got, none stood out… Those jobs were mine if I wanted them, all I had to do was ask. I was smarter than them… I could make them do my bidding if I desired, but I thought I could be more ambitious than that. So I looked for a job to work for someone that matched my wits, somewhere I had to fight for my place,” he replied smoothly. He had talked to Morgan and Emily about his backstory on why he supposedly left and they all tried their best to match his story to be as similar to Addison’s backstory as possible. His goal was to tell his story to make her believe they were alike. 

Addison grinned and her eyes lit up with ambition. “You know, I already said that you are a great addition to my company but what would you say if I told you you could be in my inner circle?”

Reid hid his victory grin. This was finally it. He finally gained her trust to get the information his team needed to catch her. “Inner circle? I thought you worked on your own?” He frowned, acting confused. 

“I run this company by myself, yes, but I have a few close people that are in charge of keeping the place… secured. You see, I mentioned earlier that the feds are controlled by their restrictions and rules, but here I control them. I could erase all rules set in my company and I would still get the loyalty I deserve.” She took a sip of her wine. “If you agree to join, you could have anything you wanted. Forget laws and societal rules, with our two types of genius combined, we could rule the world.” 

“If I join? What would it entail for me? I know nothing is free and you certainly will not let me into your inner circle out of the goodness of your heart.” Reid leaned forward and put his glass of wine on the glass table without breaking eye contact. 

Addison grinned. “No one ever asks that. They just accept. I’m surprised.” 

“There’s a reason you are even asking me to join. I am not just a pretty face.” Reid raised an eyebrow and smiled. He internally tried to keep it together, he hated having to act like that since it was too far out his usual comfort zone but he also would do anything to help his team and save victims before they died, and if that entailed acting cocky and arrogant around an unsub, then so be it. 

“To join, there’s some sort of test.. And once you accept, you can’t change your mind.” She stood up and walked towards the door, her heels clacking against the wooden floors. “Follow me.”

Reid smiled and stood up, picking up his suit jacket and his phone. He had his jacket hanging from his arm and that’s how he was able to send a message to his team, so they could be ready in case they needed to sprung into action. 

He followed her to the second living room near the entrance and as they were crossing the main hallway, the front door opened. He saw Addison walk over to greet a girl, late twenties, who was carrying some shopping bags filled with plants and what appeared to be clothes. 

Reid frowned, not knowing who this was. They weren’t related; he knew Addison’s suspect file inside and out. And what stood out was their outward personalities clashing. Addison was the type of woman that could kill with a look and had more of a dark aesthetic. She was currently wearing high heels, a long black dress that had the neck and arms laced and was rocking a dark red lipstick with smokey eyes. Meanwhile the girl who just walked in was wearing a short pastel dress and a light blue jean jacket. She was wearing converse, just like Reid, and even her makeup was different: She had only a light lipstick on and was wearing watermelon earrings. 

“Chloe! You’re home a day early.” Addison smiled tenderly and Reid had to make a mental take back. He had not seen her act like this ever. She was always direct and cold. 

The blonde woman, Chloe apparently, smiled brightly and her blue eyes lit up. “Yeah, I wanted to surprise you. The event ended earlier and I thought I would drive home. I bought more plants. There was this really adorable place selling new plants and flowers on sale and I thought it would look great in the living room.” 

“You know we have the money to buy all the plants even when it’s not on sale,” she said in a tone that hinted she had said this before. 

“I know, but it being on sale makes it more exciting.” She grinned and her whole face lit up. 

“It will look magnificent, babe. I’ll help you move the ones from the car into the house.” Addison gave her a peck on her lips and then turned to look at Reid. “Give me five minutes and we’ll continue talking about the work thing. I have to help my girlfriend with her plants.” She didn’t wait for a response before heading outside. 

Reid was left standing there with Chloe. “I haven’t seen you around. Are you a client?” she asked. 

“Uh, no... I work for her. Started four weeks ago.” 

“And she already brought you here?” Chloe raised her eyebrows. “You must be a real genius or something for her to invite you before the six month mark.”

"I don't believe that intelligence can be accurately quantified, but I do have an IQ of 187, an eidetic memory, and can read 20,000 words per minute.” The line was all too familiar. Then he saw Chloe chuckling at his answer and scratched the back of his head. “Uh, so yes. I'm a genius."

“Yeah, I can see what Addie sees in you… Wait, are you the one who made her company reach the news the past few weeks? It said she is now twice as rich because of some company mumbo jumbo.” Chloe stared at him in question. 

“Yeah, I just helped her by giving her some pointers.” He shrugged. “So... You don’t know much about the company I presume?”

Chloe eyed him. “How’d you guess?”

“I was a profiler before. And you did call the company work ‘mumbo jumbo’.”

“Fair.” 

“Chloe, can you tell me where the bathroom is? I forgot to ask her and I really need to go,” Reid asked, hoping to take these few minutes she was distracted to snoop around. 

“Of course! There’s one down the hall to the left and another one two rooms down.”

Reid excused himself and started walking. To see what he could find. He didn’t see anything out of the ordinary so he passed to the bathroom cause he really did have to go, when he heard a weird thumping sound. 

He opened the door where the sound came from and saw a man, mid fifties, tied to a chair in the middle of the room with his mouth gagged. And that’s the last thing he saw before something smacked him in the back of the head and he fell to the ground, unconscious. 

He woke up with a ringing in his ears and tried to move. He was unsuccessful and only then realised his hands were tied behind his back and his legs were tied to a big wooden chair. The lights were dimmed but not completely out. 

Reid immediately started to breath fast and mumbled, “ _No, no, no. Not again.”_ Last time he was tied like that it was in the shed with Hankel. He did not want to repeat that ever again. Before he knew it, he was trembling and could feel his heart beating insanely fast. He was glad he was the only one in the room so no one would be able to witness his breakdown. Even though he was sitting down, his eyes were blurry and he was feeling dizzy and it was only getting worse by the discomfort that was lodging in his chest. He knew this feeling too well and he would do anything to snap out of it. The feeling of the ropes tying his hands behind his back was getting worse by the seconds. 

He could feel the rope move and burn his skin as he struggled. He didn't care, he _needed_ to get out. He could smell the damp grass and the meat cooking at the shed. He was going to die. He was - _No... He wasn't in the shed_... He was at Addison’s mansion.. He was relatively safe. He hadn't been drugged so far... He was five years sober... This was not Hankel… He tried to rationalise but there was a part of him that felt that as long as he was tied up like that it was Tobias all over again. His mouth was all dried up and his arms and legs felt like they had pins all over them, he figured it was for being tied too long...

He did his best to take deep breaths and calm himself down. But _every time_ he managed to subdue his panic just a little, he would move and feel the rope against his arms and the panic would begin again. He felt like he was slowly losing his mind. His main focus wasn't even on escaping from Addison, it was to get these ropes off his hands. He noticed the glass table a few feet away had very sharp edges. He hopped on the chair and scooted close enough so that he could try and cut the ropes with it. Moving his hands up and down until the rope was completely cut, ignoring the pain that would occasionally spike when he missed the rope and accidentally cut his arm instead. 

He untied the ropes by his feet with his trembling, and bleeding, hands and once he was completely free from the chair, he slumped on the floor to catch his breath. Once he was much more composed with himself, he was able to look at his surroundings more closely. He was in the same room he had found the man in, except now he was the only one there. He couldn’t hear any sound or anything coming from the rest of the house. He looked around for any signs of cameras. When he didn’t see any he began to formulate an escape plan. 

His hand was still bleeding. He knew he needed to do something about it, looking around he grabbed a fancy white cloth napkin that was on the table and tied it to his arm. The door was locked and he could not budge it open, so his next step in his escape plan was checking the windows. Dying in captivity was not his ideal way to go. Luckily for him one window was not closed properly so he managed to pry it open. He stumbled out of the window. The idea to make a run to his car and leave was quickly shut down when he saw two armed guards surrounding it. He took a few steps back to avoid being detected and looked around for more escape routes. He silently cursed as the realisation that he wasn’t leaving any time soon sinked in. 

He calculated his chances of survival and sprinted to the woods. It was night and it was the safest bet that he would avoid Addison or her guards. He still was not sure if Chloe was in on the whole scheme but at this point he did not want to wait and find out. 

As he jolted to the woods he felt a phone in his pocket vibrate and he confusedly took it out. _That was not his phone._ But he answered anyway. “Who is this?”

“Spencey, it’s such a shame you left all of a sudden.” Addison spoke through the phone. “Chloe and I wanted to talk to you for a bit. She wanted your opinion on where it was best to put her sun plants.” She sounded too cheery for his liking. 

Reid’s head was throbbing. He was confused and tired. “What?”

“Well, she wanted to get to know you better. I told her you were resting because you were not feeling well and then you leave? I didn't even have a proper time to interrogate you properly. That’s not very good manners now is it?” She chuckled then began talking more seriously. “I’m impressed you got out of the ropes that fast. I didn’t know what I expected if I’m honest.”

“What do you want? Why did you have that man tied up?” Reid asked out of breath. 

“I want world domination but I can settle for some money, all the societal influence and some entertainment. Which you are providing.” She paused. “Also a brownie. I want a brownie.” She sounded pensive. “And that man was no one important that you have to worry about. He missed a deadline and was a tad too violent for my liking, so he was just something that had to be taken care of. We can’t have that in my company now can we?” She huffed. “Anyway, I didn’t _say_ you could go, so my guards will be retrieving you. See you soon.” She hung up. 

Reid cursed under his breath and ran. He was not going to let them catch him. He _couldn’t_. His hands were raised near his head to shield him from the branches hitting his face as he ran. He tried his best to avoid the big branches but there was limited light, only provided by the full moon and his sight wasn’t the best at the moment after that hit in the head. 

He stopped to hide behind a tree for a few moments to catch his breath, but continued to run as soon as he heard the gunshots and the guard’s footsteps approaching. 

The plan was to run until he physically couldn't anymore but unluckily for him, his foot got stuck in a branch in the ground and he fell forward, hitting his knee and other arm. Thankfully, his adrenaline was still incredulously high, so he didn't feel the pain which allowed him to stand up and continue running for his life. 

He was running. He didn’t know how long he had been running. It could have been hours, or simply only minutes. Not being used to racing through the thick woods in only his mismatched socks, his feet were killing him slowly. To be honest, he wasn’t used to running at all, there was a reason he had been expunged from all field qualifications when he first joined. Through the years he had gotten better with his gun and definitely could run for short periods of time to chase the unsub that wanted to get away. But never like this, he never had to run when he was the one being chased. 

Feeling his ankle swelling made him bring down his pace and began to hobble through the woods instead of running. He hoped he would eventually find a way out and go to the nearest point of civilization, a diner, a motel or even a random house. But all he could see were the shadows of the trees leaning side to side as the wind moved them. 

The adrenaline started to fade completely and the pain all over his body was more prominent. His head started to hurt like hell and his ears started ringing again. Every step he took on his right foot was becoming more painful and he wasn’t even sure if his arm was bleeding anymore or not. 

He didn’t know when he started to zone out but when he came back to reality he was surrounded by a ton of flashing lights around him and someone in front of him was speaking. He didn’t know if he was the one being spoken to. 

_“-is not responsive, Hotch. I don’t know - I found him like this.”_

Reid became more aware of his surroundings and… and he _knew_ that voice. “Morgan?” he croaked. 

“He’s back. Yeah. Okay.” Morgan put his phone away and immediately reached out to Reid, who was sitting in the back of an ambulance. 

_When had he sat down? Had the ambulance been there all along?_ Reid couldn’t remember. _He had a blanket around his shoulders and he had no idea when that happened either_.

“Reid? Can you hear me now?” Morgan furrowed his wiggly eyebrows and leaned forward. “Pretty boy, are you with me?” he cupped Reid’s face with his hands. 

Reid didn’t know what to say so he stared at Morgan and nodded vaguely. He felt like nodding to what he said was the right thing to do. He was overwhelmed by everything that had happened. He lunged forwards at Morgan to hug him. He clutched onto him and grabbed Morgan’s shirt into his hands and would not let go. 

“I’m here, Reid. It’s okay. You’re okay now. I got you.” Morgan returned the hug in a more protective way, wrapping his arms around Reid’s thin figure. “Can you remember what happened?”

Reid tilted his head and pressed his lips together trying to recall. “I was running. I had to get away…” he said slightly disoriented. “What happened? How did I get here? How did you find me?” 

“We didn’t receive any calls or messages the entire day, so we were getting ready to go get you out of there if needed. We were on standby when we got your message that you still were with her. So the moment there were no more signs from you that you were okay we went to get you.” Morgan paused trying to calm himself now that Reid was responding better and wasn’t completely in shock anymore. He had been mortified when he could not locate Reid. “The house was already empty when we arrived. We found that room with the chair. We saw the ropes on the floor and then the blood... It took all we had to not think of the worse, so we split up to find you and I ended up taking the woods.” He tried to smile. “I was supposed to check the front of the house but when I saw the open window I knew you had escaped through there... Hotch wasn’t happy I left without backup though.”

Reid did his best to muster a smile. “How did you find me here?” he leaned onto Morgan for more warmth. 

“Luckily for us, Emily went after me and we caught two guys. They had guns and were definitely looking for you. Once they were in handcuffs, she stayed with them until Rossi and JJ arrived and I went looking for you,” he explained. “Which is where I found you, wandering the woods completely unresponsive… I was so _scared,_ Reid. You were completely unaware I was even there and you were bleeding... Ambulance got here shortly after and bandaged your arm. The battery of the car died though, so that's why we are here in the middle of nowhere. We are waiting for either a second ambulance or Hotch to pick us up, whichever gets here first.” Morgan finished explaining and patiently waited until Reid processed all the information in. “You got a nasty hit on your head, so don’t try to worry if you are feeling disoriented. The paramedics said that could happen.”

Reid nodded and felt his eyelids start to drop, the adrenaline crash and the multiple concussions were starting to gang up on him. “So when is Hotch goin’ to get here?”

“I was just on the phone with him and he and JJ are almost here. Emily and Rossi had to go to the station to make sure the two unsubs made it there without escaping.” 

“Ok, good... Did we catch Addie?” Reid didn’t wait to hear an answer or possibly doesn’t remember what Morgan answered before he let the unconscious take him again. Last he recalled was Morgan protectively wrapping an arm around him. 

_________

He _hated_ hospitals. He woke up in a room full of beeping machines and bright lights and the horrible stench of disinfectant in the air. He groaned as he shifted in the hospital bed. 

“Spence! You’re awake.” JJ smiled softly at him. “How are you feeling?”

“I've been better, and currently craving Jello.” Reid squinted at the lights.

JJ laughed and took it as a sign Reid was okay. At that moment Morgan walked in with two different types of Jello. 

“I heard someone was asking for Jello?” Morgan put on his signature smile and wiggled the jello in front of Reid. 

“Morgan, you’re the best!” He smiled and extended his arm to get it. Morgan made it seem as if he was going to give it to him but then pulled away at the last second. Reid pouted. “Hey, that’s not fair. You are no longer the best.”

Morgan put a hand to his chest and looked offended. “You wound me, pretty boy”

Hotch walked in while he was closing his flip phone. He had a folder in his left hand. His frown softened when he saw Reid was goofing around with Morgan which was always a good sign. “Hello, Reid. I see you’re feeling better.”

“Yeah, I’ll be better once I can leave this place,” he retorted. “Or get some damn Jello.” He glared at Morgan. 

“Well, after seeing your medical history, the doctor said you aren’t as bad as the last times you have been admitted to the ER and once you were fully awake and had one last check up, you could leave.” Hotch passed him the medical folder he had in his hand. 

“Great.” Reid smiled and began signing the paperwork he needed to to leave. He knew he would be discharged soon. His concussion was not one of the worst he has had and the rest of his injuries weren’t so bad. He couldn’t wait to leave the hospital - he _really_ didn’t like them. “Did we end up catching Addison?” No one said a thing and they tensed up, giving Reid the answer. “Where is she?”

“She was gone when we got there. All we found was a letter addressed to you.” Hotch pressed his lips in a line. “We opened it as evidence. She is gone. Left the country.”

“I want to see it.” Reid squinted at the lights and tried to focus on Hotch. “I need to see what she wrote.”

Hotch sighed but passed him the letter that was now in an evidence bag. 

“ _My darling Spencey,_

_I have to say, these last four weeks I've spent knowing you have been wonderful. You are such beautiful entertainment. Watching you pretend to hate the BAU, seeing how you did your best to fit in... Great acting, I have to give you that._

_It was a shame you were undercover. I really would have liked you on my side but after the first hour I met you I already knew why you were here. Some pawns in the police department and higher ups told me you had been seen with your little BAU team shortly before you showed up at my doorstep for a job._

_I started moving my assets the minute I made you my right hand man and now I am enjoying a nice vacation in a no extradition country with Chloe. Thank you for making me richer. I’ll see you again someday. ;)_

_P.S.: If you were wondering, the man who you saw tied up is alive. Not telling you where, though. Usually getting disposed of a guy like him kills away the boredom but you did a good enough job keeping me animated, seeing you improve my work and try to gain my trust. Think of it as a little gift. XOXO "_

“Four weeks... I spent four weeks and you’re telling me she knew all along?” Reid fumed and his voice cracked in desperation. “I could have done something, maybe try to arrest her instead of running away -“

“Spencer, stop it. This is not your fault and you did great at going undercover. You did your best and we are going to find her, okay?” Morgan looked him in the eyes.

Reid swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded. 

At that moment, Emily and Rossi showed up. They had just arrived from the police station. “How’s our baby genius?” Emily smiled as she saw Reid awake. She had walked in with her phone on her hand, holding it as if he was grabbing a camera. “Garcia would not let us alone until we showed her precious Baby G-man.” She turned the phone to Reid and a delighted Garcia squealed through the phone. 

“How’s my Boy Wonder doing? They better be treating you well over there. I’m already baking you cookies for when you fly back here.”

“Shouldn't you be at work instead of cooking?” Hotch hid his smile and Rossi nabbed him the ribs playfully. 

Reid smiled at Garcia. “I’m good. Leaving the hospital soon and we’ll go back there as soon as we can.” He made a thoughtful face and glared playfully at Morgan. “Although Morgan doesn’t want to give me my Jello.”

Garcia gasped. “Derek Morgan, don't treat our residential genius like that. He has been through _enough_.”

Morgan laughed and ruffled Reid’s hair, passing him the Jello. “I’m messing with him, mama, you know we both love him.” 

“You better.” She started typing something on her computer. “I have some work to do, gotta go. I’ll call you guys later to see how you’re doing.” She hung up. 

Emily put the phone away and went to hug Reid. “I missed you. It has been a long four weeks without you” 

“I missed you too, Emily.” He smiled and let himself be engulfed by her hug. 

Rossi hugged him next and gave him a big papa smooch on his cheek before stepping away. “I’m glad you’re okay, kiddo.”

Reid beamed at him and he let himself feel all the love from his family. Even if he was on a hospital bed after a case went wrong, he couldn’t be happier. 

“Oh! We should celebrate that we are all back together as a team at Rossi’s when we get home,” Emily said excitedly. 

“I think that’s a great idea.” Hotch supressed a smile and looked at Rossi’s reaction. 

“Absolutely not.” Rossi said, hiding his smile behind a frown that was about to become a full fledged grin. Who was he kidding, seeing Reid’s hopeful expression at the suggestion, Emily’s expectant face and Morgan smiling at him, he knew he would do anything they asked. Hell, he would give in to anything his team made him do, even if it was a loud pasta-cooking-disaster if it meant his little family was happy.

**Author's Note:**

> In case anyone was wondering this is what [Chloe](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/751311847378124871/762706299351072858/image0.jpg?width=597&height=364) and [Addison](https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/751311847378124871/762706330820673576/image0.jpg?width=225&height=225) look like. 
> 
> So, I'm participating in the whumptober challenge this year and will most likely write Prodigal Son and Criminal Minds the most for it. So if you like those fandoms you can subscribe to my BrightTerror's 2020 whumptober series!
> 
> I want to give a special thanks to [AppalachianApologies](https://archiveofourown.org/users/AppalachianApologies/pseuds/AppalachianApologies) for brainstorming ideas for this and help me get this fic together and hyping me up to write and post. She spent too much time lisening to me talk about the unsubs and creating their backstories. She is also doing the whumptober challenge and writes awesome CM fics so check it out!
> 
> If you want to come and chat find me on Tumblr as: @BrightTerror  
> Have an amazing day!


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